Poetic Pups

The skies are grey
Cresties are blue
Too wet to play
How bout something to chew?
(Jack)

Even though it's raining
Mum won't fetch us a piggy ear
She totes needs some training
And can kiss my fluffy little rear!
(Ella)

Saturday Pet Blogger Hop - Waiting

Ella and Jack waiting for Mum to move some cows out of the way at the farm.

Warm Up Winter

We are sick of this cold weather. It was so cold and foggy this morning that we couldn't even see our front fence! So we decided to snuggle up to Mum and look at some of our holiday pics.

This was taken at Boonooroo, Australia just before Christmas 2011. Time to start planning a Winter holiday up north, Mama.

Sweet, warm, freeeeeeedoooooooom!

Monday Mischief - Cuppa Tea?

Dad, where's my cuppa tea?!

Saturday Blog Hop - Sleepy Dogs

The Dental War on Dogs

We had a comment asking for an update on our Dental Dilemma: VetzLife Oral Care Gel post, so here it is! Mum had completely forgotten been giving it time to work before putting up the final review. We have generously allowed her to add some boring human notes at the end. Disclaimer: This product was NOT provided to us, nor have we been paid to review it, more's the pity.

Dictating our post.

Important Note: Ask your human to buy the salmon flavour. Mum bought the peppermint because salmon was sold out. Rookie mistake Mum, we love stinky fish, remember?!

The Dental War on Dogs

On Capture, Torture and Tactics

We were captured just before bed time, and just after we woke up to have it smeared into our mouths. That's right, twice a day. Blech. This torture went on for several weeks. Enemy thought she was so clever getting us when we were sleepy. She has no hope of catching us when we're fully awake and cruising around at warp speed. Note to self:  Do Not Sleep.

Enforced Cuddle Time was put into effect for 30 minutes after each application. Enemy and Male Enemy tried to invoke Stockholm Syndrome response by giving massages, brushing our hair, and talking sweetly during this time. No nibblies were provided, so we did not fall for it.

Our chewies were held hostage for the first week, and we didn't even get our usual raw bones rations. We're sure this is a direct breach of the Crested Code, someone call the authorities!

After an eternity, Enemy dropped torture routine to once a day, and then once every few days. Clearly worn down by Crested Courage in the face of Human Horribleness.

Boring Human Notes:

I was mildly concerned at their reaction to the peppermint gel, so I tried some on my own gums, and it did make them warm and tingly. Not enough to burn, but I can understand why the pups disliked the sensation. I've since tried them with the salmon flavour, which they don't mind as much. 

The recommended dose is twice a day for ultra grotty teeth, once every other day for maintenance. The directions recommend withholding food and drink for at least 30 minutes after application, which is why they have Enforced Cuddle Time. Pretty easy to apply as long as your dog doesn't mind having their mouth messed with. Just smear onto grubby teeth, gums or lips and it'll spread around with the saliva.

We are guilty of hiding the chewies for the first week because we wanted to see if there were any clear results. It softened the tartar and assorted grossness, but it wasn't until their pig ears, kongs, and chicken wings were given back for their chomping pleasure that it really started to remove the gunk from their teeth. Possibly this would have happened over time just using the gel, but the pups were driving me crazy dancing around every night demanding something to chew on.

Overall, I'm satisfied that VetzLife Oral Care Gel performed as it should. Their teeth became cleaner with minimal extra trauma and certainly for far less expense than veterinary intervention. We've continued to use it on a maintenance basis, and any build-up from eating bikkies disappears quickly. And the vet hasn't been nasty to them since.